A critical shortage of practitioners who treat HIV/AIDS patients in the United States is on the horizon, according to research by the American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM), which warns that more than 32 percent of today’s HIV clinicians will stop providing that care over the next 10 years. Nearly one-third of today’s workforce will retire leaving a shortage unless new practitioners can be encouraged to replace them.

The coformulations will make it possible to treat patients with more compact PI-based regimens, (and single-pill combinations containing these boosted PIs + 2 NRTIs may be available in the future). Adverse effects to cobicistat appear to be very similar to those associated with ritonavir, and drug-drug interactions also are about the same.

It has been reported that the hepatitis C combination medication ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF, Harvoni), and in particular the ledipasvir component, may increase tenofovir levels in the body. It also is known from previous investigations that ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors (PIs) increase serum tenofovir concentrations. Thus, there has been a concern that coadministration of tenofovir with both ledipasvir and a boosted PI may increase the risk of renal toxicity.

At week 12, all lipid measures had decreased in the switch group but not in the control group: total cholesterol dropped 33 mg/dL, LDL and triglycerides dropped 17-18 mg/dL, and HDL dropped 6 mg/dL. At week 24, similar changes were seen in the remaining patients switched to TDF/FTC. Authors report no changes in eGFR and no differences between groups in rates of proteinuria.

Imagine you are sitting down with a dear friend that you haven’t seen in years because he ran away from an unloving, unsupportive home, from a town where he was different, picked on, and knew he could never be safe - at least that is how he felt, - to a place where he would find love, and the supportive family he so dearly wanted. He discloses that he is gay and living with HIV infection. He says not to worry, that it’s ok, and then he says, “There’s more.” You feel your heart beat faster and time suspends.

Technology is great…when it works. This phrase comes to mind every time technology is supposed to enhance an experience and a malfunction causes that experience to cease. We know that technology should have the capacity to transform our lives, including our lives as HIV care providers. But in order for it to do so, it has to work. It has to be usable (i.e. easy, reliable, and fast). While iPad Minis have been on the market for several years now, a review of the literature yielded no current studies to examine their usability or effectiveness in clinical use.

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This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number H4AHA26216 (AIDS Education and Training Center National Resource Center in the amount of $822,136) awarded to the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center from the Rutgers University School of Nursing. No percentage of this project was financed with non-governmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.